CJB: First 'Cowboy' & Last Living Known Outlaw
by phoward
Summary: Ever wonder if Cullen Bohannon had a middle name? Ever wonder what happened to him, did he die out West, did he return back East, did he ever end up with Lily, did he mourn Mary forever, did he ever settle down? CJB, 'Cullen Jennings Bohannon' was a man full of mysteries and finally the mysteries are being unearthed.
1. Meridian Mississippi Plantation

****As you know I own nothing, AMC & those Gayton brothers do! I got this idea after talking with some friends on a fan group I'm in. We were playing a give Cullen a middle name game.

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**Meridian Mississippi Plantation ****  
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*Year 1902*

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The wild west was dying out, last remnants and dangerous outlaws were being hunted and slaughtered down like lil piggies.

One outlaw in particular had managed to fool everyone and stay incognito once he returned East from his many years out West. It was rumored that this tall man with long grayish hair and beard ran to the West after he returned home from the war to find his family brutally murdered by the hands of the enemy. Rumors had it he became a train robber, a murderer, a walking boss, a foreman, head of security, a drunkard, an adulterer, and all in all a true gun slinger with a deadly hand-eye coordination.

This man was old, nearing 80 now, but no wear near frail and weak. He had experienced many sorrows, many heartaches, but no one in the Mississippi town he returned to knew what had happened in the past. No one dared ask either. Even though he was old his stormy eyes held a fire of death by the devil in them.

The man sat on his wooden rocker, the one by his side empty (not having been occupied for about 37 years…), as he gazed onto the blooming magnolias in the yard. He closed his eyes while he took out a very old and burnt needle point from his jacket. His wrinkled, calloused, blood soaked hands clenched tightly onto the cloth as he brought it up to his nose and deeply inhaled. He bit his lip and tucked the cloth back into his vest pocket; then he grabbed a pocket watch out of his vest. He popped the watch open at looked at the picture inside. Once he closed the watch he placed it back into his vest pocket, closing his eyes once more he visited certain memories of his past. Suddenly he opened his eyes when a small voice stirred him.

"Found your old saddle bag, can I have it?" The old man was asked by the small voice's owner.

He just nodded his head, giving permission, while mustering out a deep, "Go ahead."

Thud was the nose that was made whenever the worn, nearly ratty, leather saddle bag was plopped on the floor. One by one the mystery person pulled out the items in the bag. The items weren't much. Mostly old rail stubs from places such as Durant, Denver, Dodge City, Deadwood, Tombstone, San Franscico, St. Louis, Kansas City, and many more places. There was an old medical kit and an old flask that still sloshed a bit when shook. Just when the bag seemed empty an old calling card was pulled out along with a hankie that was once a crisp white, monogrammed with green thread were the intials CJB and light coral lipstick could be made out on it as well.

No questions were asked. The mystery person was told once what happened when the old man was asked about the hankie years ago. A man got shot, right in between the eyes in barely a second.

"I'm going inside, okay?" The old man was informed.

The old man nodded and hummed out a simple, "Mhm."

No more then 2 minutes after the small voiced mystery person left the porch a posse of men dressed in their slick suits with their shinny U.S. Marshall's badges pinned to their chest came onto the land. "Time to get your fair trial." The old man heard one young, ugly, greasy-haired marshall tell him.

"I ain't going nowhere with you." The old man told the posse as he stood up, proud and strong evoking fear like he once had as a younger man during his days in the wild west.

"Durant's been dead for almost 20 years and his blondie's been dead for even longer, no one's here to pardon you now." One of the men in the posse hissed, a hiss that cut the old man to the bone.

From the mention of names from his past the older man grew angry, fire boiled in his blood. He knew why they were here, he was the last notorious outlaw that needed to be rounded up to 'better' and make the country 'safer'. He knew it was either go out in a glorious blaze or rot in a jail cell. Damn it, he'd been in jail twice in his life and he wasn't going to make jail a third charming time for him. In a flash he grabbed the gun he'd always worn on his hip, an antique Grisswold from 1861. The gun was over 40 years old but it still worked like new, was cleaned everyday too, and fired it's shots like a cannon, quickly hitting the intended target.

Unfortunately 6 bullets is no match for a posse of men armed and ready, while the old man hit 2 of the men in the posse the other's had gotten him. Shots torn in his chest, arms, and shoulder, causing blood to leak and splatter onto the whitewashed porch. The older man dropped to his knees, clutching his chest, as he deeply breathed while blood curdled from his mouth.

The posse knew the old man was dying, so they collected their 2 dead men and left. Left right as pitter patter of feet scurried onto the floor.

Bullet shots were so loud that it echoed into the tobacco fields over yonder. A man, in his early 30's, dropped his plow when he heard the scream echoing loud and clear after the bullets had died out. Air echoing, "Grandpa, no, grandpa!"

When the man, tall and muscular with dark hair tied back, reached the back porch his father had sat on day after day his blood froze cold. The site made his heart stop. His little daughter, no older then 5, was knelt down by her grandpa trying to help him even though he had already bled out from his injuries.

He knew, Weston knew why it had happened. His father had been the last outlaw, gun slinger, cowboy, of the old west and the country wanted the old west to die so big industry could boom on. His father was legendary...even though he had retired a few years back he was still considered a 'threat'. The man walked over to his little girl and softly told her, "Carrean, it was his time."

The little girl looked up with sad teary blue eyes. "But why?" She quivered.

Weston held his little girl, trying to calm her down and honestly but simply told her, "Cause when Lord says it's your time it is."

Weston and his daughter Carrean buried his father beside his first wife, Mary, and his first son, Junior. Etched in the wooden cross was "Cullen Jennings Bohannon 1827-1902 Last Living Legend Of the West, CSA Officer, Union Pacific Railroad Man, Blessed Are The Peace Keepers."

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Now, over 150 years after the Civil War, people are unearthing the past of CJB…a past, a live, a legend buried when he was laid to rest over a century ago.


	2. Bohannon Dubbed Temporary RR Baron?

**Bohannon Dubbed Temporary RR Baron?**

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*Fall of 1866, Nebraska Territory*

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He stood in his boss's railcar, summoned by the bed stricken and dying man to hear some order he supposed. The man looked paler than normal, sweat poured from his chubby face. His normally ginger curls were matted and wet. The pain of the bullet he received, lodged by his spine, a day prior was agonizing. Sitting by the wounded man's beside was the 'Fair Haired Maiden of the West' and checking on the wound was Mrs. Eva Toole. Eva had volunteered to be a nurse for the railroad baron but instead she was told she'd receive proper pay. Cullen, though, was curious on what a man near death wanted him for. Shouldn't the man be getting on his way to Chicago for that intense and badly needed life saying operation?

Mr. Durant opened his mouth and said in a shaken voice,"Mr. Bohannon, while I'm gone you're in charge of my railroad."

"Thomas!" Lily Bell shrieked in protest. The blonde clad in khaki pants, crisp white shirt, caramel hued vest and jacket, was shocked that Thomas her business partner and bed partner was giving control of the railroad to Mr. Bohannon. She had thought that she was going to stay behind to run things. "Thomas, I am perfectly capable of running it in your absence."

Cullen just stood silently and watched the exchange of words take place between Durant and Lily.

"No, Lily, Mr. Bohannan shall be in charge while I'm gone. You will stay behind but just to help conduct payroll, maybe take on some secretarial work." The ailing man mustered up enough strength to tell his mistress. The man didn't want her doing the work, truthfully he was selfish and wanted her to come to Chicago wit him.

Lily's nostril's flared up, her blood boiled, and she was insulted by her sudden 'demotion'. "Help conduct payroll, some secretarial work, but I am your partner and should be in charge!"

Durant's sweaty, chubby, hand grabbed ahold of Lily's as he told her in a pain stricken voice, "Lily, it's decided, Mr. Bohannon shall be in charge. The men listen to him."

"And you're saying they don't listen to me?" Lily piped up, not intending to give in and give up her point in the fight of wanting to run the railroad in her lover's absence.

Eva wrung out a wet rag and slapped it onto Durant's forehead. She turned around, her sights locked onto the bratty woman, and spoke up in defense of the ill man. "You heard him, maybe you should respect his wishes and stop fightin'. He's weak, needs his strength up for the trip."

With Eva having silenced Lily for a mere second Cullen took that as his cue to accept Durant's promotion and try get leave. "I'll look after your railroad, have a safe trip." Cullen said, nodding and placing his hat back on his head.

But As Bohannon tried to turn to leave Durant's voice stopped him with a faint "Mr. Bohannon." Cullen turned around to hear what else his boss had to say. "I sent a Western Union to pardon Dr. Whitehead. I need him with me, not hanging on a tree for doing his duty as a doctor-sadly to the wrong men."

Cullen nodded his head and let out a slight smile, "Thank you, I'll get him for you." Cullen left the train car in a hurry to get Doc and to tell him that he was being pardoned in order to be Durant's personal doctor.

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Lily stared out the window, watching Cullen leave and sighed. She was upset that Cullen was going to be incharge, the man that had left the railroad to return to Meridian Mississippi only to get hooked up with a train robbing gang. She honestly didn't want to work alongside and take orders from the man that had turned her down last spring. Absolutely not.

"Lily." Durant called, causing the blonde to take her attention from the window to him.

"Yes, Thomas, what is it?" She asked with a soft tone in her voice.

"Come to Chicago with me." He begged, sweat dripping from his hair.

"But your wife, I had Cullen wire her and tell her to meet you there. You'll have your wife."

"I need you, Lily, my wife hates me. We have a marriage only in name."

"But, Thomas, I'm needed here…with the railroad."

"No, Bohannon can mind my railroad, I need you with me." Durant said as he started having a coughing fit.

"Calm down, Thomas, calm down." Lily patted the man's hand in an effort to calm in. "I'll travel to Chicago with you but I'll stay with my in-laws while you're in the hospital. I will not stay in the same hotel as your wife." She told him, giving into his wishes.

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Cullen ran into the rail office where Doc was packing up his bags, preparing to flee, and blurted out to his friend,"Doc, Durant needs you to travel to Chicago with him."

Doc just shook his head and sighed while closing his bag. "I don't understand why, I can't help him none."

"He said he's wired for your pardon; wants you as his personal doctor."

"Then I must go tend to my patient." Doc grabbed his bag, prepared to leave and go see to his patient until Cullen's words stopped him.

Cullen announced in an emotionless manner, "I'm in charge of the railroad while he's gone."

"With the blonde?" Doc asked, having sensed tension between her and his friend whenever he saw them together the day prior.

"No, I doubt he's leaving his bed-mate here to tempt me." Cullen shook his head, clenching his fists to his sides, as a pang of jealously filled him. He thought that Lily had fancied him back in Iowa, or did he just read her signals wrong.

"Don't worry," Doc placed a much need hand on the younger man's shoulder, "In time, Cullen your heart will heal and you'll find somebody to love and settle down with. Don't worry, the good Lord will send you somebody special when the time is right."

Cullen looked at Doc, like a lost puppy might, and then rolled his eyes. He just pointed to the door and said, "You better get going, Doc."

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Cullen sat in the rail office's front desk chair, looking out the window, feigning to be looking over paperwork while glancing at the train leaving down the way. He sighed knowing that with Durant gone it was up to him, Elam, and Mr. Toole to keep everything running smoothing. He also knew that Elam and Mr. Toole had a problem, a problem being the love interest of Miss Eva.


	3. Just An Ordinary Sunday…

**Just An Ordinary Sunday…**

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*Fall of 1866, Nebraska Territory*

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Cullen sighed as he listened to his foreman and sort of new friend Mr. Toole go on and on about his wife Eva while they were at the deserted bridge site, on a Sunday, surveying it in order to figure out how to speed up the building of the bridge that had to be done in such a hurry. Even though it was Sunday and most people in the world were off from work he had received a Western Union straight from one Mrs. Hannah Durant herself telling him to get that damned bridge built before her Thomas returned in a few weeks. Also, he had to deliver a Western Union to Toole from Eva. In return for receiving the message Toole had volunteered to help him figure out the building of the bridge, why he couldn't understand.

"So, the message you got was good then?" Cullen asked as he pushed some hair, that the wind was blowing, behind his ear. Honestly he wasn't paying attention to Toole one bit…he was wondering why Lily hadn't sent him word asking about the railroad or something...He knew he had to knock her from his mind, she was the mistress to his boss; untouchable for him.

"Yes, of course it was good. Miss Eva says that the Durant's paid Doc to check her cause of the baby. Turns out she's farther along than she thought."

"Okay…so?" Bohannon asked in a long drawl with a furrowed brow.

"So, means the baby most likely will come out white; be mine." Toole smiled wide with happiness and a bit of relief.

"Aha."

"Mr. Ferguson, that coward, will be glad when it come out white."

"Why, thought he cared for her?" Bohannon questioned as he surveyed the land.

"He cares only bout himself, Mr. Bohannon, and what she can do for him. He never wanted the baby, said so himself. Hell, he only nice to ya cause of his job and you've saved his ass a few times." Mr. Toole explained to his boss and friend as he held a gun, just in case any Indians were nearby.

"Guess so, I don't make it my business to get into people's personal lives. I just kept to my own."

"So, ya think Missus Bell will ever give ya a turn?" Toole curiously asked with a twinge of a chuckle to his thickly Irish accent voice.

Cullen's head swung off his shoulders so fast as he shouted at Toole, "What in Sam's Hill?"

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*Fall of 1866 Chicago, Illinois*

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She sat on the wooden chair next to her boss and lover's bedside. She was holding his hand as he slept. She had tried to come in and visit yesterday, Saturday, but couldn't since his wife was in the room. Lily Bell might be a blonde but she was no dumby, she knew that it would not be appropriate for her to see Thomas while his wife, Hannah, was in the room with him. She knew that since today was Sunday she'd be able to spend some time with him since most proper people would be at church.

"Thomas, you must survive the healing of your surgery. We have to build the railroad. Without you there's no hope." Lily had told Mr. Durant

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"You alright Misses Eva?" Doc asked in his soft toned voice as he saw the woman acting as his nurse clutch at her belly quickly with a look of slight pain in her face as they walked out of the church after attending a mass.

Eva took a deep breath and just nodded her head. "Yes, I'm fine Doc, just this babe's moving 'round a lot is all."

"Ah, yes, well the baby's growing." Doc explained simply. "As long as you're fine and not hurting." He added in, wanting to make she that Eva knew that too much hurt during pregnancy wasn't normal.

"Yes, I'm fine, thank you." Eva smiled genuinely at Doc.

"Would you like to get lunch before we return to the hospital?"

"Yes, lunch would be awfully good."

As they started to walk down the street they were stopped by a woman calling out to them. They just turned around and gave smiles to the middle aged blonde all decked out in a beige and copper dress and jacket. "Good to see you went to church too, are you going back to the hospital to tend to my husband now?"

Eva just smiled and shook her head while Doc answered with a response of, "No, we're going for a quick lunch."

"Yes, considering the young lady's state lunch is a must. I shall see you after lunch in the hospital?" Mrs. Durant kindly said as she gave Eva a smile. Hannah liked Eva and she could see that this woman, different in looks then others cause of her tattoos, had a heart of gold.

"Yes Ma'am." Eva smiled.

"Of course, Ma'am." Doc respectfully answered with his Southern manners and soft voice.

"Well, then, I shall see you then. Have a nice lunch." And with that Mrs. Durant walked down the street towards where her coachman was waiting for her.

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Mrs. Durant's eyes just about popped right out of her head when she saw that young blonde map girl walk out of Thomas' room. Hannah wasn't stupid, no being married to a weasel made her smart but also a bit untrusting and cold. She knew that this girl, this Lily Bell, was sneaking in and out of her husband's room because they had to have been sleeping together. Well, Lily might not have seen Mrs. Durant but she sure in hell did see Mrs. Bell. Oh, Hannah had an instant idea and decided not to see her husband but instead to head down to the Western Union office for she had to send something to that man temporarily in charge.


End file.
